Many commercially available consumer products contain solvents that include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are environmentally unfriendly. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies have issued regulations to reduce VOC emissions from a variety of products. VOCs have been determined to be a major contributing factor to the formation of ground-level ozone, which has been proven to be a public health concern. In order to reduce ozone levels, the regulations limit the amount and classes of VOCs that can be used in various categories of products such as solvent compositions and cleaning product formulations. The VOC limitations issued by various authorities are constantly evolving and becoming more restrictive.
Solvent compositions are useful in our daily lives for removing organic and other substances from surfaces of furniture, floors, walls, mechanical devices, automobiles, bicycles, clothing, skin and the like. Useful solvents have advantageous properties, such as vapor pressures, viscosities, degreasing powers, stabilities, odor and/or color. For many applications, advantageous safety profiles are desired. Solvent compositions with low environmental impact and low VOC content are needed, and few solvent compositions have been provided from sustainable, renewable sources.
Therefore, there is a continuing need for new solvent compositions with desired properties, if possible, from sustainable, renewable sources. Also, there is a need to improve solvent compositions that meet low VOC emission standards and that are environmentally friendly.